Simply Socks Yarn Co. Blog

Leap Day Gift! Free Project Bag w/ Purchase!

Hey, we love a reason to gift you something, and Leap Year is no exception! Place your online order through Friday (March 1) and we'll gift you one of three of our awesome sock project bags with purchase! Each zippered project bag features one of these phrases: "Today's good mood is sponsored by yarn" or "Procrastiknit: To delay or postpone less gratifying actions in order to knit" or "Me: I have too much yarn. Also me: Let's go to the yarn shop!" Choose the one that fits you best and tell us in the comment/note field at Check Out which you'd prefer or we will simply choose one for you. You don't have to email or add it to your order, we'll automatically tuck one in your parcel for orders placed now through Friday this week. If your first choice is gone, we'll surprise you with a different one so you'll definitely get a bag.

What might you like to purchase today? Well, all the new 2024 colorways have arrived from Ireland's Hedgehog Fibres! They are beautiful and definitely give me the dose of vivid spring color I've been craving. We also have restocks of Sock, Skinny and Merino DK, if you've been waiting for something to arrive. I am quite fond of Caterpillar, shown below. If you want to see which are the new colors, go to this blog post from last week.

We have restocks and new colors of the economical and Berroco Vintage Sock. For less than $10 a ball, you can get several to make your own particular striping socks.

We have restocks of striping fingering and worsted weight from Urth Yarns, as well as their new Spiral Grain yarn which is a beautiful hand spun effect. I'm making a hat in it right now. It's available in Sport and Light Worsted (so slightly thinner than worsted weight). Get two in the Sport for a great pair of socks. It's called sport weight, but can be knit on US 1 or 2 needles for socks.

Fleece Artist's Thrummed Mitten and Thrummed Sock Kits are always a hit when we offer gifts with purchases. If you like the idea of fleece lined mittens or socks, these are for you. They make great gifts too. And the process is quite easy with the free pattern - really, it's as simple as tear off a little piece of the fleece and carrying it along with your yarn on a stitch every once in awhile. Patterns come with the kits too.

Want to try a new-to-you dyer that you'd typically see at fiber fairs and festivals? Leading Men Fiber Arts, Frog It Yarns and The Sheepy Shire definitely fit the bill.

Frog It Yarns color Clan Fraser

Our Sale Yarn section and Kits & Clubs link always offer inspiration too. And if you keep up on the blog, you know I'm super excited about this new addition to the shop.

We got a brief few days of amazing weather here, and now it's back to snow and sleet. Which means we'll be indoors shopping and shipping your orders to stay warm and be surrounded by gorgeous color. Thank you for keeping us busy!

 

Weekend Hat

It was a weekend of travel basketball, and I made some really good progress on my hat throughout my drive and between games.

Last week I brought home a skein of Urth Yarn's Spiral Grain Lt Worsted in Sugar Pine. I wound it while watching TV and it was a breeze to wind by hand. No weird twists or tangles, just super easy and quick. I then cast on a simple hat (no pattern) on Friday and after a lot of driving (well, passengering!) and sitting between Henry's basketball games I nearly have a hat completed.

After knitting most of the ribbing, I thought that the 50g skein might not be quite enough for the hat, so I added a few stripes in the Walkabout DK color 05 we just started carrying. It's a wonderful Organic Shetland Wool, and while the weight is slightly different and the feel is more rustic than the Spiral Grain, I like the look of them together. And I think that added two contrasting stripes will be just enough to get to the end of the Spiral Grain skein and see the full range of color change. I'd like to get to nearly the end of the skein so that I see all the colors that are in the range, if that makes sense.

Spiral Grain offers some really great color combos in the sport and light worsted. And they even show you examples of how it can knit up, which is super fab. It comes in 50g balls, and is around $10 less than comparable hand spun look yarns. And the wool used is extrafine superwash merino, so it's buttery soft. Just perfection.

12 Days of Sock Yarn - the Winners!

Here are all the winners of the 12 Days of Sock Yarn contest we did over a month ago. Thanks for your patience in sharing these. All have been emailed, so if you think one of these is you, check your Inbox!

Thank you to all who share and participate. I love learning more about you all and being inspired by your lives and creativity.

First Day of Sock yarn winner is Natalie who told us about a special project "I made pillows from the two become one pattern for my children when they got married!"

Second Day winner is Teresa who says "I decorate for all of the holidays especially Christmas inside and outside of the house. I may the only one who sees it but it brings me joy each and every day just looking at the decorations"

Third Day winner is Danielle who says "Yes, I send out cards. And love receiving them! And love getting the letters! But I dont send a letter to everyone I send a card to...."

Fourth Day winner is Angi who showed kindness this year by "I donated embroidered (that i had embroidered), T Shirts to the local animal shelter that had their name with "adopt don't shop" with cute doggies and kitties. They can sell the T Shirts and keep all the profits to help the shelter."

Fifth Day winner is Stephanie who shared "I mostly knit for home decor. I tend to like the more dense/less airy fabric knits create."

Sixth Day winner is Anne C who shared this about her finished knits this year "Unfortunately finished only 2 hats, started a scarf and that’s it! I had a year of unfortunate events of life with a move, my husband being hospitalized and he died in September. After 3 years of caretaking I will have a lot a time to knit sox and all kinds of projects. I can’t wait to get started after Christmas holidays!" Anne, you are in all our thoughts and we hope you have many hours of knitting whatever brings you joy!

Seventh Day winner is Leslie who tells us about her fave holiday cookie recipe "Oatmeal Cranberry white chocolate cookies! Delicious and I tell myself healthy."

Eighth Day winner is Debra C who says "I have started doing socks toe-up and two at a time…I was always a top down sock knitter. Doing socks a new way has opened up new pattern possibilities!"

Ninth Day winner is Terri who says her fave holiday song is "The duet by Bing Crosby and David Bowie - Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth"

Tenth Day winner is Dana who says her fave holiday film is "Any of the Hallmark movies."

Eleventh Day winner is Kara W who shares "No, I don't make resolutions per se. But I do like to set some intentions for the coming year, and reflect on things I'm grateful for, and things I want to be motivated for, or push myself toward in the coming year. Year. Maybe that's the same thing? I can't tell if that's just semantics or there's a genuine difference."

Twelfth Day has three winners of $75 to SSYC. Those winners who shared two unique things about themselves:
Lisa who says "When I was 18, I went to Japan to spend a semester abroad living with a host family. It improved my confidence and led to a PhD in Japanese history. I love textile art and knit, spin, and crochet."
Anne who says "When I retired 2 years ago I found out there is still not enough time to knit everything you would like to😂. Getting to watch your grand kids grow is such a blessing. Learning to accept help graciously for things that used to be so easy is tough but I am ever so grateful for all the wonderful people in my life."
Wenday who says "2 things about myself: went on a mission trip to the DR and am going back. Love to share my gift of crafting."

Hedgehog Fibres 2024 Colorways

As I wait patiently (perhaps a white lie?) for our boxes from Ireland to trickle through Customs, I wanted to share a bit of a preview of the new 2024 colors that will soon be here from Hedgehog Fibres! These will be available on Sock, Skinny Singles and Merino DK. I was hoping by the end of the week, but these parcels are taking a bit more time, so I'm thinking it will be early next week before they are here and photographed and up for sale.

These photos are provided by Hedgehog Fibres, and I will take photos of the actual skeins once they arrive. I find that theirs are usually a bit overexposed and "styled" in a way that makes them look really nice but not exactly representative of what actually arrives, so I take our own photos. Afterall, hand dyed skeins can look different in each batch that arrives, so when they do they often get new photos. Here's what you'll see soon!

The short descriptions after each name are directly from Hedgehog Fibres.

Avo - perfectly avocado, mellow green

Caterpillar - bright and punchy lime greens and yellows, peppered with reddish oranges.

Celestial mysterious deep purples, tons of speckles in green and blue tones

Woodland - soft and delicate pastel tones with a light smattering of speckles

Crocus - spring green with hints of pinky lavender and dreamy speckles

Lavender Fields (a colorway Hedgehog Fibres already sent us last year, and we will have more of now that it's added to their 2024 line up) - delightful lavender base with cheerful little speckles. The most popular "Colourway of the Month" of 2023

Lone Wolf - haunting deep teals and greys, dark rust and speckles

Minty - luminous mint green

Moonstone - clean watery blue with vibrant orange-y speckles

Peachy Keen - bright peach with warm toned speckles. Little bit hard to photography, gorgeous in person!

Pond Life - faded greens with dark contrast-y speckles. Delicate touches of blue and pink

Sangria (which is interesting because they already have a color called Sangria. So I'm assuming this will change shortly) - vibrant reds with touches of blue and green and a ton of speckles. Red is one of our most requested colours!

Seahorse - blues and purples with cool tones speckles. Cheerful and very cute!

Sunshower - this one is fun! Multicolour without being too garish, Sunshower will inject joy into any project.

Superbloom - Zingy greens with multicolour speckles, one of the studio faves.

Wildflower - Fresh yet quite elegant. Spring is coming!

Wisteria - dusty pastel purple

Monsoon - stormy greys with green and purple speckles, touch of rust

Flash Sale!

There's something for everyone in today's Presidents' Day Flash Sale! Use coupon code FLASHSALE at Check Out to see 10% come off hundreds of yarns. Like a superb import? Use it on Irish dyer Hedgehog Fibres! Want something fun and addictive? Try the stripes of Urth Yarn! Love a deal? The coupon code also works on our already reduced Sale Yarn section!

We've added some really great deals to our Sale  Yarn section today, including a super bulky weight yarn Koozoo from Urth Yarns. Originally $25, it's now $15.50 and then you can use the coupon to get an additional 10% off! It's worth of stocking up for a thick, warm blanket or winter accessories like cowls. Perfect for gifts because it knits up so very fast. Or crochets very fast in this pattern.

If you love the work of Hedgehog Fibres, now is a rare time to be able to get a discount on it. This includes all Hedgehog Fibres yarns I offer, including the sets and Tweedy DK. And of course, their most popular Sock.

Hedgehog Fibres color Soundwave

Finally, if you're in the mood for some great monochromatic colors or stripes in various weights, Urth Yarns is a great way to go. We just got in a new restock that I know many of your have been waiting months for, so I thought I'd treat you to a bit of a deal since you've been waiting. Here's the popular worsted weight Christmas color.

The coupon code will last today through Tuesday, so just a couple days. If you forget to add it or you breeze through one of the fast Check Out options (Paypal and ApplePay, I'm looking at you!) and miss the place to enter the FLASHSALE code, just respond to your emailed receipt and ask me, Allison, to apply the code for you.

Picture Post

It's just such a busy week with SO MUCH yarn coming in that I thought I'd do a quick picture post just as proof of life. Next week, I'll detail all the greatness going on here behind the scenes.... new Hedgehog Fibres colors, Emma's Yarn DK, Madelinetosh TML minis and more. Please send help.

 

Emma's Yarn, Simplicity DK & MINIS!!!!

Yes, I do believe that subject is worth four exclamation points. Because not only are we about to share 150+ colors of Emma's Yarn DK, it has NYLON in it and we have MINIS too. Yes, I'm shouting in my head too!

Non-knitters might not be excited about something like this, but for me, this is exciting. It's not a typical DK weight yarn. It has nylon in it, which to me means that sock knitters were actually considered when Emma's chose to use this base. And it's priced less than most hand dyed DK weight yarns on the market (Madelinetosh is about to go up to $30 a skein). 

And I have all the same colors in DK weight MINI SKEINS. That's right, toes and heels, pops of color for DK weight shawls and sweaters. All the things.

I think my yarn geek is showing, and I don't mind at all. I think you'll see all the minis up on the website by the end of today, but it could be Monday before I get all the full sized colors up on the website. Photographing all these skeins takes time, and I've kinda been taking my sweet time and enjoying it. If you're coming to shop in person tomorrow, I do believe Heather has all the minis up on the wall already, so you can see them in all their glory.

Hearts & Rainbows @ SSYC

SSYC's Hearts & Rainbows goodies are live! Our Kits & Clubs sections is full of Valentine's Day color, plus we're sharing our rainbow and St Patrick's Day skeins early so that you can knit all the heart and rainbows ASAP! What do we now have at the Kits & Clubs link? Check it out!

We have our wonderful Cupid Mug Kits back, featuring four different Twisty Sock Yarn Sets from Yarn Love, shown above. I love the random black ply in main color of this set, and it comes with a solid mini for your toes and heels.

The mug is one we offered a few years back - I think it's been at least three years and we've had lots of requests for it. I love our snarky Cupid sheep who tells us "Either you LOVE yarn, or your wrong." Truth.

And as a little gift from us to you, James (my 16 year old son) made some heart and circle stitch markers on his 3D printer. The circles are a great size for sock knitting, and the hearts are larger and glittery pink. 

We have four different Hat Sets for you featuring either worsted weight or DK weight yarn and a coordinating faux fur pom pom.

Want more from Yarn Love? We have all the color at the end of the rainbow with these sock sets shown above. Also find more rainbow and Ireland-inspired skeins in Juliet and Oliver Twist Sock, shown below. All in the Kits & Clubs section, while they last.

Love stripes? I have several options in romantic hues and rainbow from Night Owl Fibers, like Strawberry Cream Puff, Conversation Hearts and Mambo Remix.

And another treat that has nothing to do with Valentine's Day, but I'm very excited about..... Madelinetosh brought back two of their formerly retired, very popular colors, Ink and Coquette.

Sometimes dyers can't make a formula anymore, usually due to unavailable dye powders or things that are necessary to recreate a color predictably. They have figured out now to make these two colors again, and so we now have them back in stock in all the bases we carry. They are shown above on Pashmina, and I have them on all the other bases we offer too.

Rainbow, by Madelinetosh, below.

If you're feeling anything like I have the past few weeks, you likely need an infusion of vivid color. It's finally getting a bit warmer and definitely brighter in Indiana, and THANK GOODNESS I'm surrounded by amazing color all day to keep me somewhat sane. Let us send you something awesome this week to put some joy on your hooks and needles!

I think our next club will be live for sign ups for just two more days, so if you wanted to sign up, please don't hesitate. Please make sure your club is on its own order, and other yarny goodies are ordered separately. For your club to be counted, it has to be ordered alone. Thanks!

Things I'm Loving on a Monday

Preparing our Valentine's Day kits and yarns has me in a mood. A much better mood than a week or so ago when I grumbled about having the Gray Weather Blues. So I wanted to share some things that I'm loving.

Here's what I'm loving. My family. Well, that's an obvious one. But sometimes we all find our families annoying/loud/too much/etc. Being stuck indoors or in a car all the time with loud boys can be A LOT. Especially when the rare moments a week you have carved out for yourself consistently get whittled away by driving and projects and activities. But life has calmed down a bit, and I'm enjoying the busy nature lately, as both kids seem to really be enjoying themselves in a variety of ways. This weekend, Henry competed in ISSMA with a vocal solo, got gold, and gets to go to State in a couple weeks! And I chaperoned James and a bunch of high schoolers at their robotics competition this past weekend and got to see what that was all about, up close and personal. And with your help, we sponsored the team this year! I feel like we need a knitting or crocheting robot. I think it's worth noting that 25% of the team members crochet regularly, and half of them know how to knit or crochet.

The kiddos above stayed up all night readying their robot. Do you ever remember enjoying something so much that you stayed up all night? I do stay up late knitting, and sometimes lose track of time. But never ALL night. I left James' face uncovered by emoji - he looks a bit tired after very little sleep, doesn't he??

Another thing I love? When my socks are matching without any fuss on my part. My Opal Crazy Waters (color 11315) socks ended up matching which was serendipitous. I typically don't try to match my hand knit socks, nor do I care if they do match, but it's cool when it just happens. Like it was meant to be.

More things worth loving? All the hearts and rainbows that are coming your way soon. I think all our Valentine's goodies will drop on Wednesday, so I hope to show them all to you tomorrow with details. But this is just a bit of a preview.

Even though it's been cold and gray, I hope you're finding a few things that brighten each day. Hugs from your kiddos, a good cocktail in the evening, or a perfectly surprising knit. Whatever it is, I hope it holds you over until the weather is again bright and light.